alkalinity ATO

[Jake.g]

hi guys. i was just wondering if anyone could give me advice on the best way to set a ATO that would dose alkalinity as well.

 

my tank seems to just smash through DKH with it dropping by two points every 24hrs. i have about 6 sps frags and a bunch of lps plus some softies in the tank and lots of coraline algae

 

my parameters are as follows

cal 470 ppm

mag 1570 ppm

dkh ( i try to keep it at 11) but sitting at 7 now

[markalot]

11 is going to be tough to stay at. If it's a mature tank you might want to target 8 instead. Now about that 2 point drop. Double check your testing, and always test at the same time every day prior to dosing anything (including calcium and Mg). How big is this tank?

 

To answer your question, I mix Seachem Reef Builder with my topoff water to try and keep alk stable. I still need to dose 2 caps of 2 part Alk to maintain 8 KH. If you have high evaporation then you can use Kalk water to help maintain both Alk and Calcium but it probably won't keep up either.

[Jake.g]

11 is going to be tough to stay at. If it's a mature tank you might want to target 8 instead. Now about that 2 point drop. Double check your testing, and always test at the same time every day prior to dosing anything (including calcium and Mg). How big is this tank?

 

To answer your question, I mix Seachem Reef Builder with my topoff water to try and keep alk stable. I still need to dose 2 caps of 2 part Alk to maintain 8 KH. If you have high evaporation then you can use Kalk water to help maintain both Alk and Calcium but it probably won't keep up either.

i have been testing for about four days now and each at about that same time a day ( the first three pairs of test were in the morning and the latest was 6pm and again 24hrs later.) its been a pretty consistant drop.

the tank is not that mature its about 10 months. my ph is pretty stable.

im not sure what my water volume is with sand and rocks but its a 33G tank with a 3 litre HOB skimmer.

 

my evaporation is probably average but i am getting a ato over the weekend to keep my salinity stable.

[markalot]

Sounds like you're in the same boat I was at about the same time. At 2 years old now I'm about to break down and start automated 2 part.

 

Mixing Reef Builder with your ATO water, I use aprox 10ml per gallon, will greatly reduce the alk swings but you will still need to test and dose some Alk and definitely Calcium and Mag. You can try mixing at a higher rate but I find it starts to fall out of solution at higher mixing rates.

[Jake.g]

Mixing Reef Builder with your ATO water, I use aprox 10ml per gallon, will greatly reduce the alk swings but you will still need to test and dose some Alk and definitely Calcium and Mag. You can try mixing at a higher rate but I find it starts to fall out of solution at higher mixing rates.

do you mean 10 gs in every gallon?

i'm okay with having to dose as my work is avos and evenings so it leaves me all morning for my tank. i just wanted to figure out how to set up a alk ATO i also use the sea chem alk powder but at this point i am dosing 10mg in 250ml everyday and i think it these swings that are causing my sps to brown out a a bit as i have no real nutrients in the tank.

[markalot]

do you mean 10 gs in every gallon?

i'm okay with having to dose as my work is avos and evenings so it leaves me all morning for my tank. i just wanted to figure out how to set up a alk ATO i also use the sea chem alk powder but at this point i am dosing 10mg in 250ml everyday and i think it these swings that are causing my sps to brown out a a bit as i have no real nutrients in the tank.

 

10 milliliters of powder as measured in a measuring cup. It's about 2 tablespoons per gallon, but I didn't want to bother you with those units. I fill a 2.5 gallon jug with 2 gallons of water, put in 20 ml of dry powder (Reef Builder) and shake vigorously, then add to my 5 gallon topoff container.

[Jake.g]

do you reckon i could add that 20ml straight to a 5 gallon container (what i am planning to use as my ato container)?

have you noticed an improvement in your sps ( i assume you have some)

 

thanks

[markalot]

do you reckon i could add that 20ml straight to a 5 gallon container (what i am planning to use as my ato container)?

have you noticed an improvement in your sps ( i assume you have some)

 

thanks

 

Yes, stability improves coral health but to get the really good colors you have to start feeding like crazy and make sure your exports stay in line with your imports. You can either overstock and let the fish do the feeding or start feeding the corals directly using products such as Reef Roids or Reef Chili. Healthy well fed corals will handle parameter swings better than starved pale corals.

 

Just be prepared to encounter all kinds of fun as you ramp up nutrients. Also learn to distinguish the difference between nutrients and phosphates / nitrates. You still want to keep those at manageable values but you also want some kind of food in the water for the corals to eat. A lot of people accomplish this by doing an extremely heavy cloud producing feeding one day followed by a water change and cleanup the next. I have a decent, but not great, skimmer and I gravel vac when I do a water change to help remove any food and detritus stuck in the gravel. The more I feed the better the color, the thicker the skin on my SPS, and in general everything looks healthier.

 

Kat's fabulous Max thread is a good place to witness just what heavy feeding looks like. You can also search Reef Central for coral color threads and SPS feeding experiments.

 

If your like me you are at the point where you don't understand the lack of color since you've got phosphates and nitrates under control and little algae to deal with.

[Jake.g]

If your like me you are at the point where you don't understand the lack of color since you've got phosphates and nitrates under control and little algae to deal with.

 

thats exactly where i'm at. and its SUPER frustrating. i have about five fish in my tank which isnt over stocked but they should help. plus i dose with acro power once a week. i how the alk and temp swings arnt doing it any good but that i'm getting a handle on that.

 

i'l give that heavy dosing before a water change and see how that works.